I don’t get how the four million would suddenly become Evertonians when they now aren’t. Will they stop supporting RS/ManU because Everton moved outside Liverpool?

Southampton’s old stadium could only hold 15k, so the fact their attendances have gone up is hardly a surprise. What I’ve heard at least the Coventry and Man City fans would rather have the old stadium back because the new one just doesn’t compare.

I read that interview and found it to be very informative. The vote will be binding, attendance numbers have always increased and stayed above prior levels, and the population figures within 45 minutes of the proposed stadium are much higher than they are currently, allowing many more people to attend games more easily and can actually increase our fan base. It was not a babied interview, he asked him the questions and got answers, and did the research for himself as well. Facts are a great thing.

David,
Never allow facts to get in the way of a good story!

I have to disagree there. That was not really an interview, to start with, more a formal chat. MBE didn’t ask a single hard question and in fact kept reinforcing things that Wyness said. The whole article was very pro-move and MBE didn’t even try to be impartial.

Also, Wyness still doesn’t seem to know how much the stadium will cost Everton. Looks like even MBE struggled to make sense out of it.

Marko,

What sort of ’hard questions’ would you have liked to have seen asked ? Something about the meaning of life or quantum physics ?

There’s very little, if anything, that wasn’t covered there or that hasn’t been covered elsewhere.

Marco we are not talking about 4m people becoming Evertonians just a realistic proportion of them. Given that we will be moving closer to 2.5m people it stands to reason that the chances of some of those people or their future offspring supporting the Blues increases.

In response to Mark on the issue of Manchester City and Coventry fans wishing that they could be back at Maine and Highfield road respectively, would it be any different if the ground move coincided in an upturn in playing form which obviously hasnt happened. If Man City get their act together under Errikson which I very much doubt, I’m sure Eastlands would become more like home, success and the feel good / bad factor are obviously interlinked.

Marko,I agree with you.It sounded like a David Frost interview when he interviews a politician.All too cosy.

I found the interview informative. It also scared me a little. It’s quite clear that a "no" vote would finish the deal. We would then be truly looking into the abyss.

A few points, the MBE interviews are always on the pro club side so expect no tricky or posing questions and I found the statistics quite stagnant, a jump of 3 million catchment by driving 4 miles is a little ambitious as many of these will be in Manchester and many of the stadia used as comparison are of much lesser sides; eg Boro when they changed stadium were a poorly supported yo yo side between divisions. Can’t deny the black and white of KW saying the vote will be upheld though.

And does this green report KW mentioned mean the likes of Man U and Arsenal will have to close great swathes of seating down?

What a load of old tosh.... moving closer to open countryside (non-Evertonian country) will increase the attendances of a city based club. There are 800,000 Evertonians on this planet. Over half live on Merseyside (the club’s stats). The rest are shared around the world with decent enclaves in Cheshire and North Wales, but nothing in comparison to the local core. To suggest that moving away from the biggest concentration of blues is going to increase attendances is laughable. Most of the clubs who built new stadia, where in poxy low capacity grounds, The Dell 15k, Roker was approx 20k when it closed..... of course they were bound to increase, they were full every week before (unlike GP now), and they haven’t moved away from their natural catchments, and they have no city rival to coax future generations away. What next? should we move to Warrington, its only 20 mins on the motorway, with loads of other motorways converging on it, and a catchment of 10 million in a 45 min radius? Honestly this is grasping at straws...... Wyness wasn’t so keen to go head to head with KEIOC on the radio the other day. He was insistent that he dictated the questions, and would only answer those he chose himself. He then even fabricated issues regarding having to reduce the capacities of the old stands because of the "green" guide to football grounds. These are guidelines only..they also apply to NEW builds and are not an issue. This fella’s making it up as he goes along, and attempts at scare-mongering, and even inventing new catchment areas out of nothing, with no precedent is astonishing and disturbing. Why do the club need to change its fanbase? How much will it cost us again?

Really Tom, Manchester City had no city rivals. No matter what is said you just won’t accept it, all the facts and statistics in the world could prove you wrong but you would still refuse to accept it.

I can’t see how that interview could have been more frank. Fact is, if we stay we perish, if we move elsewhere we’ll end up with a shocking amount of debt compared to this deal, if we expand the ground we’d actually contract our capacity down to 30’000. Kirkby has a massive percentage of Evertonians, it’s a short drive away from where Goodison is now - any real Evertonian will travel the maximum extra journey time of 15 minutes and, when you get there, you’ll have a nice load of parking space designed specifically for that mad invention called a "car" - that machine many of us have that Goodison Park doesn’t recognise.

I realise a couple are romantics, I realise a few just love a conspiracy and I realise that a few more are just blind, but its time to wake up and realise where Everton Football Club is right now and where its going to be in a few years - and I don’t just mean in terms of the location of its stadia.

I say bite the bullet and lets go to Kirby, I liked the interview and I believe that ultimately we will be happy with the new stadium. Alternatives should appear very quickly, if by the time of the ballot there is nothing concrete to compete with Kirby we should say yes.

The interview with Wyness is clearly benign and I like the Frost analogy.BK is turning into another Kenwright/Wyness spin machine a la Liverpool Echo.I implore TW to remain resolute and professional in its objective coverage of all things Everton.

Lee, I’ve got one of those car devices you’re on about. I drive a 400 mile round trip for every home game I go to, with an overnight stay. When I go to Goodison, I can leave after the final whistle, stroll to Stanley Park and still be back at my mum’s in Huyton for 6 o’clock. I can be back in Town for a pintby half seven. At Kirkby I’d be lucky to be out of the purpose built car park and queuing to get on to the M57 by 6 o’clock if experience of out of Town grounds like the Reebok and Reading are anything to go by.

Answered alot of questions for me, I think I would vote yes, I was swinging that way but the extra stats confirmed what I believed anyway.

I agree completely with Tom Hughes post, It is just another fragmented stat thrown in to try and justify the financial benefits that the board will receive. When will people realise that this move is not for the benefit of the fans, it is commercially beneficial to the Everton board. Their actions will forever damage the long term ambition of our beloved club. Our problems over the last ten years are all down to nothing other than poor management at boardroom level. BK has been there as a senior board member throughout all of this debacle. I think it is getting ridiculous that we trust him so much with the long term future of our club.


PS Anyone heard about Warren Bradley calling the city FM station on Saturday to speak to Wyness? Wyness refused to speak live on air with Warren opting instead to field questions pre recorder so that he can construct his answers accordingly...

Whatever anyone thinks of Keith Wyness,he clearly knows what he is talking about and I dont believe for one second they are taking any decisions lightly over the future of Everton FC! People like Warren Bradley are just stirring it because they know what they are losing when we pack up and ship out!

Is the Exclusitivity Period still in force or are we free to look at other proposals now?

On Naming Rights, if we are going to Kirkby, what about changing the clubs name to something more respective of our new home? After all, we will have nothing more to do with the borough of Everton or in fact the City of Liverpool. Kirkby Town FC would seem appropriate for all those advocating the move, anything less would be hypocrisy in my view. I mean Wimbledon ain't Wimbledon anymore are they? Over to you, Doddy, let's see if you can come up with something really embracing.

Having read the Keith Wyness interview, I was pleased to see that NO means NO and I fervently hope we don't go to Kirkby. However, Wyness seems adamant that if Goodison were to be sold it is realistic to expect £10m to £15m! I just can't believe that any company would pay that kind of money without there being a plan to regenerate the entire area. With all due respect to the residents of Gwladys Street and Goodison Road, a new development wouldn't be enhanced by the present appearance of the surrounding streets. Is there something (else) we are not being told ?

I?ve just read the piece on Kipper and I quote Wyness when talking about the costs of the Kirkby Project and Everton's debt created by the project:

?It will be the difference between the fifty million (Tesco) and the increased value I have already mentioned (KW speculated a possible £75m earlier). If the difference was twenty-five million, then we would have to find that figure. And that would be funded from the sale of Goodison and stadium naming rights ? if there was a difference between what that raised we would have to take on additional debt to cover it.?

Now, referring earlier to the post of Brian Waring where he asked why we don?t have money, TW?s esteemed editor suggested that the cash we?re supposed may have have been squirreled away to pay for the Kirkby project. The interview on Kipper suggests otherwise. Wyness is suggesting Everton?s contribution to the project can be generated without actually breaking open Everton?s piggy bank. Now, I know this would never stand up in court, but that to me leaves the question of why Everton don?t have any money for transfers quite open. To me, either Sky and the FA have lied about the amount of money dished out to teams, Everton have lied about the financial state of the club, or the money is indeed being squirreled away. Now, whether that is for the proposed Kirkby project or for something else, we won?t know unless they tell us.

I for one have been very encouraged by the recent talk of Scotland Road. Surely, if Bestway qualify as a ?retail partner? and LCC were really prepared to make a Liverpool city stadium happen then there is little reason to not at least explore the possibility. Though no doubt an oversimplification, if we use the Kirkby project as a benchmark, then a similar commitment from Bestway and LCC should make it a possibility. The ?exclusivity agreement? with Tesco and Knowsley has ended, so surely Everton are free to talk to whoever they like.

This is of course, if what we?re been told is true. Of course we?re not being told much at all and voters are being expected to make a decision based on a few night time images produced with AutoCAD and a bit of Buster?s bluster. Kenwright is suspiciously quiet and we?re being told that we?re doomed if the voters don?t say ?Yes?. I can envisage nightmare scenarios of Berlusconi proportions, so I hope against hope at the drivers at the wheel don?t send us careering over a cliff. Personally, I?d like them to explore the possibilities of Scotland Road site, to truly put Everton at the heart of the city ? to be the stadium most people see and associate with the city of Liverpool. It?s the least this great club deserves.